How to Weld - TIG Welding

TIG Welding is one type of welding amongst a few choices you have - MIG, Stick, Oxyacetylene, etc.

TIG can be used to weld copper, titanium, even two dissimilar metals, and is handy for making tricky welds (e.g. s-curves, or welds on round things)..

TIG generates heat via an arc of electricity jumping from a (tungsten metal) electrode to the metal surfaces you intend to weld - usually aluminum or steel.

TIG stands for Tungsten Inert Gas, after the tungsten electrode, and the sheath of inert gas (argon or an argon mixture) surrounding it.

Big thanks to Mose O'Griffin, who narrated, taught, and demonstrated.

Also, If you're interested in MIG welding, see this instructable:

Step 1 Choose the Electrode

Your TIG is likely to have the right electrode in it already.

For aluminum, the best choice is a pure tungsten rod.

You can alternately choose from any number of tungsten alloys (including thoriated tungsten - which is radioactive!) which are uniquely suited to welding particular alloys of metal.

For reference, this example uses the specific alloy 6061 Aluminum (the "steak and potatoes" or "normal" type of aluminum)

Comments

[ratz2]

If you want to see some excellent instructional videos on TIG and other welding check out (search for) wlediingtipsandtricks on YouTube! He also has a weldingtipsandtricks.com website.

[Ragnarok-zero]

those gloves must be imposable to feed the filler accurately in, get some proper thin tig gloves you don't need those huge things for tig.

[ratz2]

Agree!
You don't want/need stick Arc welding gloves for TIG.
Some people don't even wear gloves if welding for small things, NOT that I would recommend that!
Get gloves that are made for TIG welding.

[ratz2]

I don't know if I would wear thick stick welding gloves for TIG.
They make thinner but still protective TIG welding gloves that allow you to feel more as you weld which can be helpful for TIG especially for feeding the rod.

[CHEVY6998]

I would strongly suggest a dedicated stainless brush for aluminum. Also one should always care about the way a weld looks and functions. A proper weld will look good by nature. A weak weld is a dangerous one.

[stasterisk]

did you read the instructable? I only recommend seperate brushes.

[ratz2]

Not only a dedicated brush for aluminum but a dedicated Stainless Steel brush. Other metal brushes could contaminate the weld.

[CHEVY6998]

ANY process ofTIG whether it be DC or AC, Steel/Stainless/ or Aluminum should all use only 99.9% purified Argon. 75/25 is not inert and contaminate your welds. This exceptions to this rule and exotic alloys such as Titanium. Ti requires the introduction of Helium and controlled chambering.

[Fredrick_chilton]

I second Chevy6998 I TIG weld for a living, and know for a fact that you only use purified argon for the most common types of welding (Aluminum, Carbon steel, Stainless steel). With the exception of the introduction of helium, hence the reason some people refer to TIG as "heli-arc" (pronounced Heely-ark) If you use an argon/CO2 mixture, you will realize it RIGHT AWAY. Why? Your tungsten will start burning up, turning black, throwing sparks, and "hissing." In other words, you will ruin your Tungsten tip. Also, you need psi to be set at 15-20 psi. 15 will do just fine in most conditions, preventing the waste of gas.

[JoshuaTerrell]

Thirded. The only gases used in TIG processes are Argon, Helium, and rarely Nitrogen. Argon provides a more stable arc, whereas Helium produces a "hotter" arc. Nitrogen is occasionally used to weld deoxidized copper. Very few TIG processes use C02 as a stabilizing agent, and usually in low ratios (90/10) for exotic metals.

[ratz2]

Agree with all above. Never heard of using CO2, except from Joshua above for exotic metals.

[iMakeItHappen]

is it possible to TIG weld w/o the gas? because i know in MIG welding you can use a flux core, and i wanted to know if the same applied here....

[OVERLOADED]

the electrode in those already has flux inside it where a tig electrode does not hence shielding gas is used, you cannot use a fluxed filler rod and tungsten with no shielding cause it will damage tungsten as well as give erratic arcs.

[Ragnarok-zero]

you need pure argon or argon helium mix to tig weld the tungsten needs shielding as well as the weld pool.

[snowluck2345]

I've been wondering this too, but I dont think you can because the tungsten electrode needs a shielding gas to prevent it from being contaminated, and thre wouldn't be enogh shielding without gas.

[jack8559]

You are absoluutely correct, you must have a shielding media (gas in this case) for any welding.... Arc welding uses the flux on the rod. The exception goes to oxy-acetylene welding which many people call brazing, but a powdered flux is certainly an advantage then but not absolutely required to do the job.

[OVERLOADED]

the flame also acts as shield from atmosphere.

[brandon_a_boyer]

Tungsten angle is an important thing to pay attention to, sharper tungstens are less penetrating and produce a wider, more shallow weld than a Tungsten with a more obtuse bevel.

[OVERLOADED]

right again, i had to once tig weld 20 gauge and I used an angle of about 45 deg or less and trimed the tip, this gave me a more focused arc and I got perfect weld size and penetration, the first pic shows the thickness, 2nd shows weld and 3rd shows penetration, sorry for the bad quality of the pics i took these with my microsoft pc cam i tought it was a good cam i payed 70 bucks for it lol or maybe i dont know about focusing?.

[CHEVY6998]

Dcep is for stick welding, yes you can use it to ball the tip. Always use the maximum cleaning setting for aluminum, since you will constantly fight the onset of Aluminum oxide (natural occurrence of heating Aluminum). Use the amperage to penetrate.

[brandon_a_boyer]

Incorrect sir, you want a setting of about 60/40 % DCEN/DCEP time. this gives you solid penetration and effective cleaning, If you are having issues with re-oxidation than your gas settings are incorrect and you have not properly cleaned your metal before welding.

[OVERLOADED]

also this setting helps in the constant balance of on/off , otherwise if its 50/50 or 40/60 then you will have trouble keeping the arc lit, but there are so many new features with welding machine these days to help offset these problems if you really need to use 40/60.

[Derin]

my stick welder only has a 5 level power switch,it is AC only

[stasterisk]

intriguing! I've added it to the instructable.

[pfred2]

3 hands is what I call being really handy!

[dla888]

I like this 'ible! I'd love to learn how to do TIG welding someday, but for now I'm learning Oxyacetylene welding.

[gwark]

I am new to TIG, but I saw a vid on sharpening the tungsten and they had the tip pointing UP, towards the grinder.
now, I am always a little scared of the tip catching on the wheel, and the rod flying out of my hands, but that hasnt happened yet. thank god.

point the rod up, towards the rotating wheel coming towards you.
that way, the rod is ground in the right direction ... something to do with current flow ;)

[pfred2]

You do not want to contaminate the tungsten so you grind wheel away, and don't use a grinding wheel you grind anything else on either. I have a dedicated grinder I just do my tungstens on.

[brandon_a_boyer]

You always feed the filler into the leading edge of the pool, otherwise you risk getting porosity or cold lap.

[w0ot!]

Are there any smaller holders available?

[brandon_a_boyer]

Torch size depends on the cooling method and the rated cycle time.

Air-cooled torches are always bigger than equivalent capacity water-cooled torches.

[Mig Welder]

You don't necessarily have to invest a lot for a good fast AD helmet. I got mine for around $45 and it's great. It has infinite shade adjustment (9-14(or 13?)). You can also change the sensitivity so it doesn't turn on when you look at lights. Finally, you can also change the reaction time (in milliseconds I think) which is nice. . .

[snowluck2345]

look on craigslist before going to a store like harborfreight. I got a miller digital elite for $150 dollars on craigslist.

[Ragnarok-zero]

good auto dark tig helmets cost more than mig/mag/mma ones, most cheap helmets won't go to below 20amps many tigs do 5amps a lot of older ones do 10amps mine goes to 3 amps, not many if any cheap masks are suitable for the whole range of a tig welders amps, even a lot of more expensive ones will only go down to 5amp.

[2 stroke]

i have the flip type for stick welding at home ( its fitted with a shade 11) and my welder is a 70 amp cheap is the shade enough i dont know btw is there gasless tig like gasless mig

[Mig Welder]

Is the arc really that incredibly bright at such low amperage?

[OVERLOADED]

i think it relies on voltage as well, power in wattage is a product of both amps and voltage.

[Ragnarok-zero]

no the oposite, it's that it's not very bright compared to higher amps the mask doesn't detect the arc and so the mask stays in the light mode does not darken to the proper welding shade, you will see a spec called "minimum tig detection" on some helmets, so for low amps you need one that detects low amps, and they cost a lot more than masks with a higher minimum amp detection that work fine with mig and arc but not the bottom of tig.

[anvil_man]

RE: the table, My guess it is a Bluco fixturing table NICE but cost.....

[Lucas011986]

Gwark, no need to be nervous grinding tungsten... just make sure you have water near by... you're more likely to burn your fingers than lose the tungsten... And yes, the method of grinding in the video is wrong, and VERY unsafe. Its pretty hard to tig weld if the tungsten catches on the wheel and spears your hand!

Always point the tungsten up. You can also hold the tungsten horizontal to the wheel to speed up grinding, but you MUST finish in the vertical position. Like you said, horizontal lines on a tungsten with play with the current flow.